Device for posture study



May 16, 1950 E. c. CHAMPAGNE DEVICE FOR POSTURE STUDY 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 22, 1946- E. C. CHAMPAGNE DEVICE FOR POSTURE STUDY May 16, 1950 Filed July 22, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 6, 1950 E. c. CHAMPAGNE 2,507,768

' DEVICE FOR POSTURE STUDY Fiied July 22, 1946 Sheets-Sheet 3 26 @462 FATIGUE 4'1 ERECT LORDOJLS 44' 4 FATIGUE ERECT 244 LORDOJIS Patented May 16, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DEVICE FOR POSTURE STUDY Emory C. Champagne, New Haven, Conn., as-

signer to The Berger Brothers company, New

Haven, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application July 22, 1946, Serial No. 685,544

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a device designed to be employed in the study of various postures of the human body, and in general relates to a device of the type illustrated in the Versoy Patent No. 2,180,181, wherein is shown a two-dimensional jointed figure having parts of the form and shape of the human body inprofile, the parts being pivotally or flexibly joined together at points approximating the joints of the human body, and which parts are secured to a panel or card so that they may be moved to various positions.

The present invention relates to certain im-' provements in a device of this kind, which provide for ready movement of the parts of the figure or manikin to various positions of posture, so that the figure in these ositions will be as near lifelike as possible. Moreover, certain features of construction in the device of the present application tend to lessen resistance to the movement of the parts of the figure so that adjustments may be easily made without binding or friction between the various elements of which the figure is constructed.

One object of the present invention is to pro vide a posture-study device comprising a jointed figure simulating the form of the human body in profile, the parts of which are flexibly joined or pivoted together at points ap roximating the joints of the human body, so that they may be moved into various positions.

A further object of the invention is to provide a posture-study device of the character described, which. may be made of relatively few parts so that it will be economical to construct and easy to operate.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a jointed figure for posture study, and means for operating. or moving. the parts of this figure into various recognized postures, both correct and incorrect, with a minimum of frictional resistance and with a consequent ease of operation.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a posturestudy device embodying my improv'e'ments;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the parts in another position;

Fig. 41s a view similar to Fig. 1, showing still another position of the parts;

Fig. Elisa sectionalview on line 5--5 of Fi 4';

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on line 6-6 of Fig. 5, showing the front supportingv plate;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line 1-7 of 2", showing the spacing plate; and

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view of the operating slide.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown in the drawings a jointed figure, designated generally by the letter A, which is mounted upon a support, designated generally by the letter B.

The support B consists of three parts, a front part or panel Ill, a back card or panel I I and a spacing element I? mounted between the front and back panels. These elements may be formed of any suitable material, such as a sheet of card= board or plastic, for example, and are secured together at each of their four corners by suitable fastening devices such as rivets or eyelets 13.-

The front card or supporting member I0 is shown moreespecially in Fig. 6 of the drawings, and is provided with a plurality of slots employed principally to accommodate the pivot pins of the parts of the figure, which will be hereinafter described. Adjacent the upper end thereof is a slot [A slightly inclined in a vertical direction, while spaced downwardly therefrom is a slot l5 also slightly inclined but in a direction opposite to that of the slot l4. About the center of the card or support ID is an arcuate slot l6, and at a still lower position is a further slot I1, which is also slightly curved or arcuate in shape. All of the above slots, as will be hereinafter described,- are designed to serve as guide slots for pivot points of the pointed figure.

In addition, the support I!) is provided with a vertical slot 18 serving as a guide for the operating slide, as will be hereinafter explained, and upon the lower part of the card may be painted or printed a representation of the human foot -I 9. As the foot is always resting upon the floor in the various postures to be assumed by the figure, it is unnecessary that it be made a part of the figure, and it is, therefore, expedient to merely print or paint it upon the supporting card. Likewise, adjacent an intermediate portion of the card a figure 2D is printed, which in certain of the -as-- sumed postures will show beyond the outlines of the jointed figure to give a representation of the wrinkling oi the abdominal fieshat 2}, and in other assumed postures to show the outline of the curved portion of the back, as at 22. v

The spacing element I2 is shown in- Fig. '7, and consists of a card of substantially the same dimensions as the front support I D but of somewhat greater thickness. This elerr-ient is provided with a relatively large opening 230i; irregular shape to slidably receive the operating slide 24, which will be described more particularly hereinafter. It is also provided with openings and 2B registering generally with the openings I4 and I5, respectively, of the support Ill, and a lower opening 26 which is designed to register with the ankle joint of the figure. These openings, generally speaking, are adapted to receive the ends of the eyelets or rivets which pivot the figure to the front card or support It so as to provide for freedom of movement of these pivots without any tendency to bind against adjacent parts.

The operating slide 24 is shown in Fig. 8, and is of a shape generally similar to that of the opening 23, but of such a size that it is permitted vertical movements in this opening but restrained against lateral movements. That is, the side edges of the slide 24 make a snug fit against the side edges of the opening 23, although the length of the opening 23 issuch that longitudinal movement of the operating slide is permitted therein. The slide is provided with operating slots 2'! and 28, the former being inclined slightly from the vertical and the latter being of arouate form. These slots cooperate with certain of the movable joints of the figure, as will be hereinafter described, and a further slot 29 is provided, which slot extends vertically and receives one of the fixed joints of the figure so as to permit movement of the slide relatively to this joint. That is to say, the slot 29 merely serves as a guide slot for the slide 24, and does not serve as an operating cam slot to move any of the parts of the figure.

The slide 24 is also provided with an opening 30 to receive a rivet 3| carrying buttons 32 and 33 upon its ends, one of the buttons being on the face of the front support I0, while the other is on the rear face of the rear support I I, so that the operator, by placing his thumb upon one button and the forefinger upon the other, may readily move the slide upwardly and downwardly to bring about adjustment of the parts of the figure to various postures.

The rear card or supporting plate II is substantially a solid sheet, but is provided with a vertical slot 35 (Fig. 7) to receive the rivet 3I and permit the sliding of this rivet, which is fixed in the slide 24, relatively to the support I I. One principal function of this rear card is to close the opening 23 in the spacing element I2, and, together with the front supporting member I0, retain the slide 24 within the opening 23 of the spacing member.

The figure A consists generally of a head section 35 supported upon a pivot such as the eyelet or rivet 37, which, as shown in Fig. 6, passes through the slot I4 of the member ID, and at its rear end is provided with a washer 38 disposed in the opening 25 (Fig. 7). The figure also comprises a chest portion 39 pivoted to the head portion by a rivet or eyelet 40, which extends through the slot I5 (Fig. 6), and upon its rear end is provided with a washer 4I disposed in the opening 26 of the spacing member I2. It will be seen, therefore, that the rear ends of these rivets are received in the openings 25 and 26, and are, therefore, held out of contact with the rear supporting member I I, as shown in Fig. 5, so that there will be no frictional resistance to their movements.

A lower abdominal section 42 is pivoted to the section 39 at 43. This pivot, however, extends only through the two sections, as shown in Fig. 5, and does not extend into the front support It).

The section 42 is, however, pivoted to the front support by the pivot pin 44, which, as shown in Fig. 6, extends through the front support and also through the slot 29 in the slide 24, and is provided upon its rear end with an enlarged portion 45 which lies in the opening 23 rearwardly of the slide 24. Thus, while the section 42 is pivoted to the support, this pivot 44 is not movable with respect to the support, as are certain of the other pivots. An upper leg section 47 is pivoted to the abdominal section 42 by the pivot pin 48, which pivot pin extends through the slot IS in the card IIJ (Fig. 6), and also through the slot 28 in the slide 24 (Fig. 7), and is provided with an enlarged portion 49 at its rear end which operates within the opening 23, so that the rear end of this pivot operates in thespace between the slide 24 and the rear support II.

Pivoted at 5I to theupper leg section 4'! is a lower leg section 52, the pivot 5| passing through the slot I! (Fig. 6) and also through the slot 21 of the slide 24, and likewise has an enlarged portion 53 at its rear end operating between the slide 24 and the rear support H. The leg section 52 is likewise pivoted to the front support It by the rivet or eyelet 54, which, as shown in Fig. 7, operates in the opening 23 of the spacing member I2.

It will be seen, therefore, that all of the pivots, with the exception of the pivot 43, which only joins two sections of the figure and does not enter the supporting structure, operate in openings in the spacing member I2, that is, either in the openings 25, 25 and 25 or in parts of the enlarged opening 23, so that the movements of these pivots will be attended with as little friction as possible. At the same time their rear ends will be protected by the rear card or support II, which also serves with the front support Ill to hold the operating slide 24 in place. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the slide 24 may be provided with certain indicia such as the words Fatigue," Erect and Lordosis, to indicate the different postures assumed by the figure corresponding to different positions of the slide, and the front support if) is provided with a slot or window 55 through which these designations may be read by the user of the device.

It will also be seen that only two of the various joints of the figure are positively moved with respect to the support, these being the pivots 48 and 5I, which are moved by the cam slots 2'! and 28 of the slide 24, the movements being restrained or guided by the slots I6 and I! of the front support I5, and that, while the pivots 31 and 40 are permitted movement in the slots I4 and I5 of the front supporting member I0, these movements are effected by movements of the abdominal section 42, and are not effected directly by movement of the slide.

As shown in Figs. 4 to '7 of the drawings, the slide 24 is in its uppermost position in the opening 23, and thus the designation Lordosis appears through the opening 55 in the front plate, showing that in this position of the parts the figure has assumed a lOldOSiS posture. In this instance the pivots 48 and 5! are disposed in the lower ends of the slots 23 and 21, and therefore the pivot 48 has been moved to the left-hand end of slot I6, while pivot St has been moved to the right-hand end of slot IT. The knee joint, therefore, has been moved or bent rearwardly, while the upper thigh joint 43 has been moved forwardly. Likewise, the neck and head joints 40 and 31 have been permitted to drop downwardly in the slots l4 and 15, as is the case in faulty posture. As the pivot 44 is fixed with respect to the support l0, movement of the pivot 48 forwardly or to the left, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6, moves the pivot pin 43 to the left so as to expose the curved baclrline 22 on the card [0, and presents a true lordosis posture.

If now the slide 24 is moved downwardly, by the disks 32 and 33, to an intermediate position in which the notation Erect appears through the opening 55, the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1. In this case the pivot 43 will lie substantially centrally of the slot l6, and likewise the pivot 51 will lie substantially centrally of the slot ll. This moves the pivot 43 back wardly or to the right so as to move the pivots 40 and 31 upwardly, as permitted by the slots M and I5, to bring about a true erect posture.

Upon further downward movement of the slide 24, bringing the notation Fatigue opposite the window 55, it will be seen that the knee joint 5! will be moved forwardly, or to the left-hand end of the slot ll, while the pivot 43 will be moved further rearwardly, or to the right-hand end of the slot [6 in the front support l0, so as to bring about a forward bending of the figure at the knee, and a rearward bending at the hip. Likewise, the pivot pin 43 will be moved rearwardly, thus again permitting the pivots 3! and A0 to drop downwardly to the lower ends of slots It and 15, thus bringing about the fatgue posture, shown in Fig. 3. In this position of the jointed members of the figure, the wrinkled flesh line 2! on the background ill is exposed forwardly of the chest and abdominal sections as and 42.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device for posture study comprising a front support, a two-dimensional jointed figure carried on one face thereof, the sections of which have the contours of parts of the human body, said figure comprising an upper bod section having a pivot member adjacent its upper end,

.a slot therein to receive the pivot member adjacent the upper end of the upper body portion and additional slots therein to receive the pivots at the upper and lower ends of said leg section, and a movable operating member connected to said last-named pivots to move the leg and lower body sections and thereby move the upper body section.

2. A device for posture study comprising a front support, a two-dimentional jointed figure carried on one face thereof, the sections of which have the contours of parts of the human body, said figure comprising an upper body section having a pivot member adjacent its upper end, a lower body section pivoted to the support adjacent its lower end, an upper leg section pivoted to the lower body section above the pivotal connection of the latter with the support, said body sections being pivoted together at their adjacent ends, said upper leg section having a pivot member adjacent its lower end, said support having a slot therein to receive the pivot member adjacent the upper end of the upper body portion and additional slots therein to receive th pivots at the upper and lower ends of said leg section, a movable operating member connected to said last-named pivots to move the leg and lower body sections and thereby move the upper body section, and a head section pivotally connected to the upper body section and movably connected to the support.

3. A device for posture study comprising a front support, a two-dimensional jointed figure carried on one face thereof, the sections of which have the contours of parts of the human body, said figure comprising an upper body section having a pivot member adjacent its upper end, a lower body section pivoted to the support adjacent its lower end, an upper leg section pivoted to the lower body section above the pivotal connection of the latter with the support, said body sections being pivoted together at their adjacent ends, said upper leg section having a pivot member adjacent its lower end, said support having a slot therein to receive the pivot member adjacent the upper end of the upper body portion and additional slots therein to receive the pivots at the upper and lower ends of said leg section, a movable operating member connected to said lastnamed pivots to move the leg and lower body sections and thereby move the upper body section, and a lower leg section pivoted to the support at its lower end and pivoted to the upper leg section at its upper end.

4. A device for posture study comprising a front support, a two-dimensional jointed figure carried on one face thereof, the sections of which have the contours of parts of the human body, said figure comprising an upper body section having a pivot member adjacent its upper end, a lower body section pivoted to the support adjacent its lower end, an upper leg section pivoted to the lower body section above the pivotal connection of the latter with the support, said body sections being pivoted together at their adjacent ends, said upper leg section having a pivot member adjacent its lower end, said support having a slot therein to receive the pivot member adjacent the upper end of the upper body portion and additional slots therein to receive the pivots at the upper and lower ends of said leg section, a movable operating member connected to said lastnamed pivots to move the leg and lower body sections and thereby move the upper body section, a spacing member secured to the opposite face of the support and having an opening in which said operating member is slidably disposed for rectilinear movement, said member being guided by the edges of said opening, and a backing member covering said opening.

EMORY C. CHAMPAGNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Ernst et a1 Oct. 19. 1943 

